SCOTT WALKER'S WISCONSIN

OR: HOW ONE REPUBLICAN CONTROLLED STATE LEGISLATURE RESPONDS TO THOSE PESKY FOLKS WHO KEEP UNCOVERING CORRUPTION

NOTE: I was going to post a piece about Greece and how multitudes of economists are now saying "Hey, EU & IMF enough is enough. You've crushed the Greek people like grapes in a barrel at harvest time so back the fuck off already! But then this short Chicago Tribune piece caught my eye.

July 3, 2015

Nearly all records created by state and
local government officials, including bill drafts and communications with
staff, would not be subject to the Wisconsin open records law under a sweeping
surprise change Republicans introduced in committee Thursday as an amendment to
the state budget.

The changes were part of a
24-page final motion to the budget that makes 67 alterations to the two-year,
$70 billion spending plan that the Legislature was expected to vote on next
week. The panel was to vote on adding it to the budget Thursday night. The full
Legislature, along with Gov. Scott Walker, would have to sign off before they
would become law.

Numerous new protections would be
extended to the 132 members of the Legislature, their staff, support agencies,
and all other state and local government officials, including members of school
boards.

"It's astonishing,"
said Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.
"It is a full-frontal assault on the open records law as it pertains to
the state Legislature and other agencies of government."

Under the provision, all
"deliberative materials" would be exempt from the open records law.
That includes all materials prepared in the process of reaching a decision
concerning a policy or course of action or in drafting a document or
communication.

The exemptions are even more
extensive for members of the Legislature and their staff. They would not have
to disclose communications between one another, the public or others who work
for the Legislature, such as staff in the clerk's and sergeant at arms offices.
The protection extends to a wide array of legislative business, including
drafting bills, developing public policy, all aspects of legislative
proceedings such as committee hearings, and investigations and oversight.

Legislative service agencies would
be required to keep all communications, records and information confidential.

Lueders said lawmakers were
pushing for the changes because of embarrassing recent stories, including one
about Gov. Scott Walker proposing the elimination of the Wisconsin Idea from
the mission statement of the University of Wisconsin. Notes related to that
proposal, which are available to the public on the Legislature's website, were
widely reported to show communication between Walker's staff and bill drafters.

"This is cowardly,"
Lueders said. "It's an affront to the citizens of Wisconsin, and I hope
there is tremendous uprising to it. ... This will absolutely lead to corruption
and abuses."

Republican Sen. Luther Olsen, a
member of the budget committee, said he didn't know who had requested the
change. When asked if he thought the state would be better off with the new
restrictions he said, "Don't ask me. I didn't write it."

The final budget motion was
sponsored by the committee's Republican co-chairs, Rep. John Nygren and Sen.
Alberta Darling, but it contains items requested by numerous unnamed lawmakers.

Republican Sen. Leah Vukmir,
another member of the budget committee, continued walking by reporters without
speaking when asked what she thought of the open records changes.

Additionally, Republicans
proposed restricting records available on the popular Courts' Consolidated
Court Automation Program known as CCAP. Records would be removed for criminal
cases where charges have been dismissed prior to trial, the charges were not
for violent offenses, the maximum penalty was less than six years in prison and
the person charged was under 25 years old.

State Sen. Jon Erpenbach, a
Democrat on the budget committee, said he was opposed to the changes.

"Government works best when
things are open," he said.

Associated Press

The Illinois State Legislature's Republicans are simply trying to protect Governor Scott Walker's ass with these moves. Recall, if you will, that six Walker aids have already been convicted of embezzlement and campaign donation violations in John Doe I and the current John Doe II - pretty much about the same issues - is being reviewed by the Illinois State Supreme Court.

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